If You Kiss a Boy

Search the internet for and watch Alex Sanchez’s video “It Gets Better,” where he talks about growing up gay. As you watch, write a list of 10–15 key words or phrases from the video. In class use this list to tell a partner about Sanchez and his message. Sum up in class.

Alex Sanchez (1957–) was born in Mexico, but now lives in the USA.

ALEX SANCHEZ

Remember! You don’t have to understand all the words in a story to enjoy it.

primary school barneskolen horsing around lekeslåss ignoring overser homophobic homofobe principal’s rektorens (kontor) suspension utvisning detention gjensitting If You Kiss a Boy Joe and Jamal have been best friends since primary school. One night while they are horsing around, Joe kisses Jamal. Even though it felt great, Joe feels like he has done something wrong, and now Jamal is ignoring him. At school the next day, their homophobic friend Curt teases Joe about being gay after their science teacher, Mr. Bonita, holds him back after class. Then Curt and Joe get in a fight. Mr. Bonita breaks it up. “Okay,” Mr. Bonita tells the crowd, “get to your buses. Curt and Joe, come with me.” As he walks us to the principal’s, I think how every day seems to bring some new thing I can’t believe I did. In the principal’s office, Curt and I each have to tell our side of what happened. Curt gets a week’s suspension for Vurderingseksemplar starting the fight. I get a week of after-school detention for punching him in return. Great, now everyone will make jokes about me staying after school with Mr. Bonita. Curt gets to leave after talking to the principal, but Mr.

Bonita says he wants to talk to me. When we get back to his room, he asks me to sit down across from him. At first he doesn’t say anything, just scratches the side of his face like he does in class when someone asks him a question that he has to think about. “Joe,” he tells me, with that tone of voice that says, Time for the lecture. “Just because Curt pushed you doesn’t make it

right for you to have punched him. You know that, don’t you?” “Yeah,” I mumble, though I also know that if Curt did it again, I’d do the same thing. While Mr. Bonita says something about escalating violence, I glance at the ring on his finger, the one I’ve wondered about. When he pauses, I ask, “Is that a wedding band?” At first he doesn’t answer, just studies me. Then he says, “I have a partner.” I know from watching Will & Grace that he doesn’t mean a business partner. He means, like, a guy partner. He is gay. My heart ka-thumps at the realization. I shift my feet, wanting to run, except, like, I’m glued-to-the-seat curious, too. “My dad thinks being gay is a sickness,” I tell him. Only after I say it do I realize how mean that sounds, but it doesn’t seem to bother Mr. Bonita.

Vurderingseksemplar mumble mumle escalating voksende glance at kaste blikk på wedding band giftering Will & Grace tv-serie ka-thumps slår hardt at the realization når jeg skjønner det glued-to-the-seat curious limt fast til setet av nysgjerrighet mean frekt, slemt bother plage

evidence bevis squirm vrir meg faint besvime pass out besvimer disappointed skuffet brow panne shifting flytter seg fra side til side my mind reeling det går helt rundt for meg tilts nikker utter si fling slenger slam to a halt stopper brått opp balustrade rekkverk scrunched sammenkrøllet

“There’s absolutely no scientific evidence of that,” he says. “Oh,” I say. There’s a question I want to ask him, but I can’t. Instead, I say, “You don’t think it’s bad?” I realize that’s kind of a stupid question, since if he thought being gay was bad, he wouldn’t be gay. “I don’t think it is,” he tells me. I squirm in my seat, still unable to ask the question I most want to ask. So I say, “How did you first know you were?” “Well ...” He eyes me up and down, and I swear he can tell what I really want to ask. “When I watched a movie or TV, and the guy kissed the girl, I wished the guy was kissing me.” I think back to the movie Jamal and I saw yesterday, and I wonder if that’s why I kissed him. The more Mr. Bonita talks, the more I want to ask my question. Finally, I decide I have to ask it, before my heart explodes all over the place. “Do you think ...” I take a deep breath, feeling like I’m going to faint. “... I ... am?” I glance down, certain I must be as red as an apple. No way can I look up at him or I’m sure I’ll die. In fact, I wish he’d say something quick, before I pass out. At last, he says, “I don’t know.” I glance up, so disappointed I could cry. I mean, I’d like to know one way or another, you know? “But whether you are or not,” he says, “what matters is this: that you accept and respect yourself for who you are.” He lowers his brow, all serious, but then smiles a little bit. “And you don’t go punching people out about it. Is that clear?” I nod, shifting nervously in my seat, my mind reeling. “Anything else you want to ask?” he says. I think for a moment and glance at the clock. “How long do I have to stay?” Vurderingseksemplar “I think you’ve had enough for today.” He tilts his head toward the door. “Tell your parents I’ll call them tonight. You can start staying after school tomorrow.” Before he can utter another word, I grab my backpack. “See you,” I yell behind me, sprinting into the hall. I’m not sure why I’m running, or why I feel so excited. I guess it’s because of our conversation. I fling open the building’s front door and slam to a halt. A lone figure sits on the balustrade, waiting. He glances up at me, his face scrunched, his brow worried-like. “Hey,” Jamal says.

UNDERSTANDING

1 Answer the questions. a Why do Curt and Joe fight? b What punishments do the boys get for fighting? c Who wants to talk to Joe about what happened? d How did Mr Bonita first know he was gay? e Does Mr Bonita think that Joe is gay? f Who is waiting for Joe outside the school?

VIEWPOINTS

2 Discuss the questions. a Why do you think Mr Bonita wants to talk to Joe? b Why does Joe ask Mr Bonita about his wedding band? c How does Joe’s father feel about homosexuality? How do you think this makes Joe feel? d Does Joe know if he is gay or not? e Mr Bonita tells Joe: whether you are [gay] or not, what matters is this: that you accept and respect yourself for who you are. Do you think this is a good piece of advice? What advice would you give Joe? f How does Joe feel after his talk with Mr Bonita? Why do you think he feels this way? g Why do you think Jamal is waiting for Joe? TEXT ANALYSIS 3 Answer the questions for analysis. Narrator: Who tells the story?Vurderingseksemplar Setting: Where and when does the story take place? Characters: Who is the story about? Plot: What happens in the story? Conflict: What is the problem? Theme: What is the story really about?

More tasks

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LANGUAGE LAB

4 Punctuate the sentences and add the missing quotation marks. a I ask Is that a wedding band I ask, “Is that a wedding band?” b There’s absolutely no scientific evidence of that he says c At last he says I don’t know d Anything else you want to ask he says e See you I yell behind me

5 Change the sentences from direct speech to indirect speech. a I asked, “How long do I have to stay?” I asked how long

I had to stay. b Mr Bonita said, “I don’t think it is wrong.” c He said, “You cannot punch people.” d I asked, “What to you think about it?” e “I haven’t made up my mind”, he replied. 6 Word pyramids Can you create a word pyramid like this? Start with a single letter, A, I, M, N, O, S or T. Every word uses the same letters as the word before and adds one more. You can play this as a competition with a time limit. T A T A R T Vurderingseksemplar T E A R H E A R T

Scoring: 3-word pyramid 2 points 4-word pyramid 4 points 5-word pyramid 6 points Extra challenge: Create a 6-word pyramid for 10 points.

SPEAKING SPOT

7 Spelling and pronouncing ea Many words in English are spelled with ea. Practice saying these words with ea from the story aloud. Work with a partner. If you are not sure how to pronounce these words, listen to them on an online dictionary. See tips for dictionaries below.

heart learn spear instead leave heard great ear head lead feast feather please eat WRITING WORKSHOP 8 What do you think Jamal and Joe say to each other after Jamal says “hey” at the end of the story? Write a dialogue. DIGITAL DIVE Vurderingseksemplar

9 Go to the website for the It Gets Better Project (itgetsbetter.org/stories/). Watch one of the video stories, and tell a partner about it.